Nelson Mandela & Adam
I thought of Adam tonight when Nelson Mandela won the Arthur Ashe Award n the ESPY Awards. A video narrated by Morgan Freeman beautifully illustrated the healing that took place in South Africa in 1995.
Mandela had brought the world cup of rugby to South Africa that year. He had encouraged black and white to put aside their differences and in national pride and reconciliation to support the national rugby team: Springbok.
It was a moving tribute to Mandela. And as I watched it, I found myself in tears as I remembered the day that Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990. My son, Adam was six years old.
I showed him the moving photograph on the front page of the Hartford Courant – Mandela with fist raised. “Mandela is Free!”
Adam was extremely interested and as we spoke about Mandela’s release, he was appalled that racism could cause someone to be imprisoned for 27 years. “It’s just like Martin Luther King! It’s wrong.” He had said. “How would those people like it if they were born with brown skin and someone did that to them!” We had a deep conversation in which Adam passionately lamented over how wrong racism is.
At dinner that evening, his father, Leszek sat at the table and Adam brought up the topic. “Daddy, Nelson Mandela was free from prison today!” Leszek’s answer was characteristically stoic. “It’s about time.”
Adam was six. But he was never really young. I believe that there is such a thing as an old soul and that he was one.
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